Madshus continues to improve market share and position. As spring rolls around, Madshus sums up yet another successful season, and we continue to strengthen our position in the Nordic skiing industry.
Products
Madshus opened the season at the ISPO fair in Munich by introducing a number of innovative new products and technologies: the new Nanosonic Skate Regular Soft features an entirely redesigned ski geometry that improves responsiveness and snow feel. The ski is engineered and designed with some of the best cross-country skiers in the world, and is a natural choice for the various World Cup circuits (cross-country, biathlon and Nordic combined). Our new light-weight touring ski with incredible snow feel redefines the standard for recreational skiers. The redesigned cruising series continues to bridge the gap between track skiing, traditional cross-country skiing and alpine touring, allowing skiers to enjoy previously separate activities on one pair of skis! The new Race Performance line of ski boots features World Cup level construction and design in a performance-oriented boot. As with all of our ski boots, these boots are PVC-free. Finally, one of the most exciting developments for the 2013 season is the splay technology that reveals the dynamic performance in each ski and offers incredible control and precision in ski selection.
These are just some of the highlights of what’s in store for the 2013 season, hitting the retail shelves in the fall of 2012.
Team Madshus is the name of our racing program and this team is an important part of Madshus pride and customer interaction. Our racing teams continued to crowd the podium this season as well. Madshus Marathon Team, which races on the FIS Worldloppet/Marathon Cup and citizen racing events, dominated the circuit for the third season in a row. Madshus racer Jörgen Brink (SWE) set a new course record at the 90-kilometer Vasaloppet in Sweden, which was one of the tightest and most exciting events ever. This was Brink’s third Vasaloppet title in a row, making him the only racer to deliver a true hat trick since wooden skis were the norm. Brink also won the 63-kilometer Tartu Maraton (EST) two weeks prior to the Vasaloppet, and concluded his season with a second place at the FIS Ski Classics cup final in Vålådalen (SWE) on March 31. Madshus Marathon Team racer Stanislav Rezac (CZE) won two of the other Ski Classics events: The 50-kilometer Jizerska Padesatka (CZE) in January and the König Ludwiglauf (GER) in February. Our marathon racers made Madshus the most winning brand on the Ski Classics Circuit with four of the seven victories on both the men’s and the women’s side: Madshus racers between Susanne Nyström (SWE) and Sara Svendsen (NOR) also won four of the seven Ski Classics victories.
On the Biathlon World Cup Emil Hegle Svendsen (NOR) was one of the most significant racers on hte circuit, with 15 podium finishes for the season and second place on the overall IBU World Cup. Olga Zaitzeva (RUS) was also one of the top racers on the women’s circuit, with 11 podium finishes for the 2011-12 season. Madshus racers were on the podium 59 times throughout the World Cup season, and the Madshus icon Ole Einar Bjoerndalen (NOR) earned his 94th World Cup victory this season.
On the FIS cross-country World Cup, Madshus racers delivered 30 podium finishes, and it’s exciting to note that several of our younger skiers are stepping up. Heidi Weng (NOR) is certainly the rookie of the year in every category this season: The 20-year-old impressed throughout the season and capped her World Cup season with a second place in Falun, the last event of the season.
Other strong talents include Paal Golberg (NOR), Hanna Brodin (SWE), Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg (NOR) and Krista Laehteenmaeki (FIN). Madshus racer Noah Hoffman (USA) has also made great improvements and is closing in on the international level with several strong finishes in the World Cup this season.
But maybe the most impressive performance was Nordic combined racer Bryan Fletcher’s (USA) World Cup victory in Holmenkollen on March 10, 2012. This was his first World Cup victory and the final FIS World Cup event this season. His victory is particularly impressive considering Fletcher spent much of his childhood struggling to beat leukemia. The young American has an amazing attitude and commitment to the sport, and his World Cup victory might be the sweetest of them all this season – regardless of discipline.
These are just a few of the achievements from the 2011-12 season, and prove that our products are world class, just like our commitment to our team and to the environment. This season’s developments and achievements have further contributed to our overall goals: to strengthen our brand and be among the top two choices in cross country skiing regardless of category/discipline both domestically and globally. And it was another strong season we are proud to add to our impressive history.
Best regards,
Per Wiik
Global Marketing Manager